


Mad Dogs and Englishmen Go Out in the Midday Sun

by orphan_account



Category: The X-Files RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2014-10-13
Packaged: 2018-02-19 06:22:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2378066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David is heading to Cannes for his world premier of Aquarius and invites Gillian along too.  However, prying eyes are watching the duo as they try and have some quiet time together on the beach...  And it's make or break time for David as he has to face the music or lose the girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



She had been as surprised as he was when she’d found out that his new show about a prolific American serial killer was going to have its world premiere in France of all places. It made sense that it was Cannes, if it were to be anywhere in France. She was surprised he had even considered going as she knew he didn’t particularly enjoy travelling, but maybe this particular memo had caught him on a good day. He had sent her an email with a link to the article, with a simple one line message:

‘Hotel Barriere. Rooms booked for October 12th and 13th. Don’t forget your bikini. Dx.’ 

She wrote back to the email, not caring that she was replying immediately with a smile on her face and twitchy fingers that kept making spelling mistakes in her words, despite her short sentence.

‘Only if you steal the red speedo back from the Smithsonian… Look forward to it, Gx.’

It was then that she realised that she had scheduled two book signings in California after she had finished in New York. She sat back in her chair and kicked her desk leg in frustration, her big toe feeling the sting. She really needed to get away and not just to New York to see him briefly, sign some books and be stuck at Comic Con. The south of France was beautiful, the beach and the sea, and two whole days of David where he only had to turn up for one hour’s worth of screening was just too good to turn down. She didn’t want to turn down his offer; they had both looked forward to October for longer than they could remember. They hadn’t had the chance to see each other enough and as much as technology provided a stop gap, she needed him and she needed him all around her. She felt guilty but knew she’d have to make her excuses and just do the signings in New York. At least one appearance in America would save her some face. She needed to do this for herself and for them. She had never felt comfortable going back to California anyway and she’d also have the bonus of having plenty of time to get back to make a certain six year old very happy.

++++ 

She arrived at the hotel mid-morning, after an uneventful and thankfully short flight. After too much deliberation and time spent choosing clothes she had opted to wear a pale yellow, long floaty sun-dress for the day and a royal blue cocktail dress for the evening, with some warmer clothes stowed away for the flight back to England. She wasn’t sure if she'd have the chance to wear the dress or whether they’d have to have dinner separately. The thought made her sad and she’d hoped the answer was yes, but realised he may have to mix and mingle with producers, cast and crew and wasn’t sure where she fitted in amongst everybody. Overall she had travelled light, not expecting to be wearing any clothes for much of the trip. The thought made her shiver with excitement. Underneath her sundress was a black string halter neck bikini. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail with small tendrils escaping to frame her face. She had used the barest hint of tinted moisturiser and thanks to her very brief time in the Mediterranean sun her skin had a glow. That just wasn’t possible living in England, especially since she had spent the entirety of August inside a theatre. 

She reached the reception desk and checked in, before asking which room ‘Robert’ Duchovny was staying in. Turns out he’d managed to get them rooms next to each other and a smile flashed across her face whilst her mind flashed back to another time in San Diego when they’d snuck in and out of each other’s hotel rooms like teenagers, each having a key to the other's room. She stopped smiling and paid attention when she realised the receptionist was actually speaking to her.

‘Ms Anderson I have a message for you to meet Mr Duchovny at our private beach. I’ll show you to your room and can escort you down there if I may?’

The bellhop waited while she reapplied a hint of perfume and cleaned her teeth before shoving a beach towel in her bag, a book that she could at least pretend to read, her purse and some sun lotion. She wiped her hands anxiously on her dress on the ride downstairs in the elevator and pulled her oversized sunglasses down over her eyes the second she stepped outside, to try and disguise herself and be able to see in the glare of the midday sun. 

She spotted him from the top of the stone steps that led a short distance down to the beach on a sun lounger and nodded at the bellhop who took his queue to leave. She ambled down the stairs carefully, taking in the view. The beach was gorgeous, a tiny little private cove with rocks to one side and flanked by tall, grassy sand dunes and the odd palm tree on the other. She took off her sandals to allow the soft grains of white sand to tickle her toes as she made her way over to him. The sea was a turquoise blue and lapped gently at the shore, the soothing sound making her feel instantly relaxed. He had an ice bucket and two glasses positioned between their sun loungers and was reading a tattered copy of a book, though she couldn’t quite make out the title. 

He was sat at an angle on the sun lounger as she approached him from behind, hands playfully covering his sunglasses as she heard him laugh and ask ‘Is this room service for Robert Duchovny?’

His hands covered hers and he twined their fingers together, pulling her around to face him, his eyes taking in her flimsy almost see-through sundress and the black bikini underneath. A small whistle escaped his lips and he shuffled up on the sun lounger to make room for her next to his long legs, pushing her sunglasses up onto her forehead so he could see her face.

‘Well I requested David Duchovny and that he should be wearing a certain ‘suit’ which I see he hasn’t brought with him so…’

‘The pilot refused to make a detour to the Smithsonian. I made an official complaint. These were the next best thing,’ he said, gesturing to his blue and white patterned board shorts.

They sat looking at each other, her seeing her smiling reflection in his aviators as his thumb traced circles on her palm and his fingers played with hers. She glanced down as her fingers ran over his left hand feeling something was different and noticed his tattoo had gone, and made a mental note to ask him about that later. She hadn’t noticed it when she’d seen him in New York, but it was hardly surprising with the little time they’d managed to spend together. She had noticed that the letters had been fading each time she had seen him but didn’t want to pry too much. Yes he was divorced but that had been three years in coming. The removal of the tattoo was far more symbolic for her, signifying a final goodbye, a closed chapter. She felt him wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer to him and he sat up so he could touch his forehead to hers. 

‘Hey,’ he said gently, his hand tracing circles along her lower back.

‘Hey yourself,’ she wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in the short tufts of hair there. He saw her pout and she looked a little sad.

‘Hey it’s grown since I last saw you!’

She pressed the lightest of kisses to his lips before moving her mouth to his ear and whispering ‘I still want your San Diego hair back.’

He moved his head quickly to capture her lips with his, his tongue probing and she moaned allowing him better access to her mouth. She tasted of a bare hint of coffee and toothpaste and he of orange juice and sweet pastry. His tongue stroked hers slowly as his fingers tangled in her hair, untying her loose ponytail and twirling the ends around his fingers. He loved playing with her hair even though he had noticed hers was shorter, but he didn’t dare risk making a comment.

His fingers traced up and down her back finally finding the zip of her dress and he tugged on it gently, feeling her smile into his kiss. They broke apart breathless and she drew lazy circles in his chest hair, her eyes drifting down to his groin and finding his board shorts left very little to the imagination. She stood up to shrug the dress down easily over her hips and laid it over the back of her sun lounger. She heard him gasp as he took in the sight of her in her bikini. The triangles of material barely covered her breasts and were joined together with a string of pretty coloured beads and two strings tying the whole thing round her back and the back of her neck. The thought made his cock strain hard against his board shorts. Her matching bikini pants were equally not as generous with two bows tying the fabric together over her hips. He was turned on by the sheer precariousness of it, two slips of his fingers and the whole thing could come undone.

He made room for her on his sun lounger and they facing each other, his hand on her hip as his fingers traced a dangerous path underneath the string that held her pants together. She raised one eyebrow as her hand reached into the ice bucket next to them, popping the cube into her mouth and sucking gently. He closed the short distance between their mouths and she held the ice cube between her teeth, offering it to him. He surprised her by taking the cube with his fingers and kissed her on the mouth, pulling her cool bottom lip into his mouth and sucking hard. She gasped as he continued to kiss her, tongue exploring her mouth and groaned as she felt him press the ice cube against her erect nipple, leaving a trail of water rivulets across her chest before teasing the other nipple into a peak. Her leg tangled between his and she pulled him closer allowing his erection the most fleeting of touches against her abdomen. The ice cube was still on its journey down her body, moving in random lines between her belly and both her nipples. Her back arched towards him and she couldn’t help but moan as one long finger played with the waistband of her panties, just reaching her curls before it was rudely taken away. She groaned and he smiled wickedly as he reached behind her for another ice cube, taking it in his mouth this time and keeping it between his teeth as his mouth trailed the wet cube over one breast, making lazy circles through the thin material. He dropped the ice cube into the cup of her bikini and she jumped and moaned loudly, the cold sensation of the ice cube and the heat of her arousal mixing as he sucked on her breast moving the cube around her nipple with his tongue from the outside. She heard his fingers reach into the bucket for a second cube and whilst he sucked on one breast he gripped the other hard and felt her tug his hair and thrust against him. 

The ice cubes weren’t lasting long with the heat from the sun and the heat from her body and she wouldn’t last long either if she didn’t have him inside her. He made a satisfied sucking noise as his head came up from her breast and his mouth kissed her, his cool lips against hers, warm, wet and swollen from arousal.

‘David…’ she purred, the sound of her saying his name going straight to his cock.

‘Puts a whole new spin on the ice bucket challenge,’ he mumbled, wondering how he was coherent enough to come up with a joke when all he wanted to do was throw her on the sand and fuck her senseless.

She pressed kisses over his collar bone and up his neck as she felt a long finger press against her clit, finding she had soaked through her bikini bottoms and her eyes sprang open at the contact, causing her to hiss through her teeth. The heel of his hand was pushed against her and she arched to get more contact with him, desperate to feel his fingers against her skin. He trailed his fingers up and under the waistband of her pants, flicking his index finger once across her clit. She jolted and he laughed a little at how sensitive she was, calming her down with slow circles through her curls then letting his finger play under the string of her pants. He was about to complain that she’d stopped kissing him when he felt her go very still.

‘David. Don’t freak out but…’

‘What? What’s wrong?’

He searched her face and the penny dropped as he rolled over and followed her eyes to where she was looking. They heard the clicks and saw the unmistakable black circular shapes of long range lenses lined up along the top sand dune.

‘Fuck.’

He untangled his legs from hers and sat up abruptly, leaving her to adjust her bikini. She watched as he stood up quickly and she sighed, swinging her legs over the side of the sun lounger, looking down at her toes in the sand.

‘You think they saw everything?’

‘I think they’ve probably been here since the beginning, yes. I think we can safely say we’ve given them quite a floor show.’

He began pacing in the sand, reaching under the lounger to pull his t-shirt over his head and gathering his book and beach towel.

‘David you’re freaking out.’

‘Well of course I fucking am that’s basically their equivalent of a fucking sex tape. There’s the missing Mulder and Scully sex scene that the world’s been waiting for.’

‘God, David. Just… Calm down, please.’

He was going to be blown out of all proportion and she was really starting to lose her patience with him. They’d been caught on camera, the photographers were inevitably running back to whatever holes in the ground they came from and the damage had been done. They’d be all over the internet within minutes, just as America was waking up to breakfast. She understood him being angry about this eclipsing the promotion of his new show but she knew it was more than that. He was freaking out about them being pictured together for the first time in a year and she hated that he was in such a state about it. There were choices to be made about what they did next and they needed to talk about this without him flying off the handle. 

He threw her dress at her and luckily she caught it before it fell and got covered in sand. 'Get dressed Gillian. We can't have them see you looking like that.'

'Like what?'

'In a fucking bikini that's not covering anything.'

'David they've taken the fucking pictures already. It's done. Deal with it.'

'Dont fucking tell me to deal with it this.... This isn't some fucking huffpo interview you can gloss over and not say anything about for months.'

'Don’t you speak to me like that.'

'Get dressed. We're going back to the hotel.'

'Together? You think I’ll walk anywhere with you in this state? Fuck you David. Oh wait, I did that and that's why I'm in this fucking mess now.'

She stepped into her dress and did the zip up as best she could, not wanting him to touch her even though she needed help and defiantly tied her hair in a rough ponytail, knowing he liked it best when it was down. She shoved her feet into her sandals grabbing her bag and stomping ahead of him up the beach and the steps back towards the pool and hotel. She wanted to tell him she was angry that their privacy was invaded. She was hot, aroused and angry all at once and she wanted to scream at him for being so damn unreasonable. Damn him and his long strides for easily catching up with her.

'Well fuck you! I should have known better than to think you were any less ditsy than you were twenty years ago. This fucking matters Gillian. You just don't give a shit.'

'Tell me one fucking thing I've done wrong apart from board that flight to Cannes? One thing David. How many fucking times do I have to say it I’m single and you're divorced. Now get over that or stay the fuck away from me.'

‘They have pictures of me touching your cunt on a beach,’ he practically spat at her. ‘It makes me fucking mad that they took them, fucking mad that I let it happen and even more fucking mad that you don’t seem to fucking care.’

‘Fuck you David. We’re through.’

He turned on his heel and climbed the steps two at a time. The wind whipped the sand up around her legs and she felt it sting her skin. She dropped her sunglasses down over her face, hoping no one could see how sad her eyes were behind the shades and watched as he skulked back to the hotel, walking away in the opposite direction to him.

++++


	2. Chapter 2

He stalked across the pool area and back into the hotel foyer, his erection making it very painful and difficult for him to walk. His book and beach towel were strategically placed over his crotch and he was concentrating on getting back to his room as quickly as possible, when his shoulder collided with an oncoming bellhop.

‘I’m terribly sorry sir,’ said the young man as he regained his balance. Why is it he was always apologising when he was never the one to bump into the guests?

David grunted and reached in the pocket of his board shorts, drawing out a 50 Euro note. ‘Have them deliver a triple scotch, some mineral water and another bucket of ice to room 202. And keep the change.’

‘Thank you sir, certainly.’ Again why was he the one to say thank you when he wasn’t asking this terribly rude man to do anything? And where was the please at the end of that request? He kept his emotions in check and mentally thought of what flowers he could buy for his girlfriend with the change from the ridiculous tip the American had given him and turned on his heel to leave.

He slammed the door of his hotel room and listened for sounds next door in hers. He hadn’t bothered looking behind him on the way back up to his room but he assumed she’d followed him. He sat in the chair by the window, feeling the breeze on his legs from the open balcony doors. Now he thought about it he hadn’t seen her getting in the elevator or taking the quicker route up the stairs to their floor. 

He was still so angry at the thought of having his privacy invaded and having those incriminating pictures taken that he was struggling to remember what he’d actually said to her. He was sure it wasn’t pretty and knew he had an ache in his chest and felt upset. He remembered swearing a lot, but hearing a fair number of swearwords slung back at him. She’d told him they were through, that their relationship was over. Had she really meant it? His thoughts were all over the place swimming through his head and he was startled by a knock at the door.  
His scotch had arrived along with the ice bucket and the very sight of the ice cubes made his cock twitch in agony as he remembered wanting to take one in his mouth and soothe her swollen clit with it. 

He dunked a few cubes into his drink and took a large swig, wincing as the amber liquid burned his throat and caused him to cough. He wasn’t even a scotch drinker but it was the first thing he could think of and it seemed appropriate for what he was realised was a very bad situation. There was no way he could lose her, this last year with her had stirred up feelings in him he thought he’d buried a long time ago. He wasn’t sure he had the capacity left in him to feel like that about anyone else apart from his kids but it turned out she had worked her way into his heart and claimed her place there. What it came down to was a simple need for her, and he needed her in his life more than anything else. Jesus had he really fucked this up completely?

He sipped again at the whisky finding that was much more tolerable than a large gulp and felt himself through his board shorts. He couldn’t think straight with his cock under so much strain and placed the glass on the table, slipping his hand under the waist band of his shorts and stroking himself all the way from base to tip. His head lent back on the chair as he thought about her hair, her gorgeous blue eyes and those erect nipples of hers on her taught beautiful breasts. The thought of the feel of her wet clit against his hand made him barely suppress a groan and he swirled his thumb around his tip of his cock like he knew she liked to do, feeling the wetness there. He increased his grip and sped up his strokes imagining himself inside her and bit his lip. His balls were tightening and his fist pumped more erratically as he came, spilling himself into his own shorts instead of inside her and opening his eyes to find himself alone with mess everywhere, in more ways than one. With a shaky left hand he reached for his whisky and took another drink.

++++

She knew he’d think she was following him, but there was no way in hell she wanted to be anywhere near him. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stay away long and she berated herself for it. But she had always hated confrontation especially with him. It reminded her of darker times from years ago that she didn’t want to think about anymore. Even if she managed to stay away from him for an hour it would still make him worry that she wasn’t coming back. She had considered the very real possibility of going to the airport and getting on the next flight back to London, calling the hotel to have them send on her things. But she really couldn’t leave without her phone, though the added advantage of leaving it in her room was if he tried to call her he’d probably just hear it ringing from his room.

She walked along the port near the fishing boats, watching them bob up and down in the harbour and listening to the seagulls. She was feeling the need for a drink and was on the lookout for an unoccupied quiet bar where she could be left to her own devices in peace to think things over. She spotted a white fronted stone building with a small empty roof terrace on the first floor and made her way in, asking the barmaid to bring her up some kind of strong but sweet cocktail. She said no a little too quickly when they asked her if she wanted extra ice.

She took her drink upstairs and pulled a chair up near the edge of the terrace, rummaging in her bag for the illicit emergency cigarettes she kept there. She’d managed to give up but every now and then a situation called for one and she suspected smoking would probably make her feel better than drink would.  
Her drink arrived and had hints of summer fruits with a darker spirit undertone. It was delicious and went down easily and she suspected that she’d very soon need another. She was still seething but the fact her hands were occupied with the action of inhaling and exhaling was calming her down allowing her to think. His language to her had been absolutely vulgar and she wasn’t sure she could remember the last time she’d seen him so fierce and angry. He had learned to let a lot of things go over the years but when it came to his private life he hated the intrusion and he couldn’t seem to let go of his anger. She knew as well and feared that he didn’t want to be seen with her. He told her she was beautiful all the time in private but she never truly felt like she was. She knew it wasn’t quite that simple, but if he really felt that way about her then he would take her out in public. They’d never been seen together outside of a work setting, they were just always so careful, him more so than her. She knew it was none of anyone else’s business what they did together, but it wasn’t a problem for him to be seen with his ex-wife on a beach and for those rumours to start, yet he couldn’t be seen having a coffee with her. She tried to force back tears from spilling over her eyelids as she once again worried about being his dirty little secret, his bit on the side. Just a fling, an affair, friends with benefits, fuck buddies and all the other distasteful adjectives she could come up with.

She sipped the last of her drink as the barmaid arrived at the top of the steps and she signaled she’d like another. What it came down to was them going public and being in a relationship. There was no going back from these pictures. Either he was ready for that or he wasn’t, and if he wasn’t she’d have to walk away. She couldn’t do this to herself anymore.

++++

He had cleaned himself up and got changed, sitting in the chair looking over the balcony for God knew how long before he heard movement in the corridor outside. He was nursing another scotch but this time he’d had the sense to raid the mini bar for some soda water. The footsteps outside stopped and he walked over to the door and looked at her through the peephole. She stood in her sundress, sandals in one hand and whilst she fumbled in her bag for her room key. She looked a little bit unsteady on her feet despite having taken her heels off and he worried then that she’d been drinking. He knew she rarely touched the stuff.

He opened the door to his room and rested his hand against the door frame, his foot keeping it from shutting and she looked round at the noise. Her eyes were red, her cheeks were covered in freckles from the sun and a little flushed and she’d caught the sun over her chest. She was beautiful but he knew he’d made her cry and judging from her face she’d been doing it for quite a long time.  
She stepped forward to face him, shaking her head. Her silence was deafening to him; her ignoring him was even worse than her losing it and getting mad. He knew she was angry and wanted her to let it out so he’d have the chance to make it up to her, even if it was the smallest of chances.

‘Are you coming in?’

Her voice was measured and calm and she spoke slowly, her English accent coming through, something he knew she did when she was trying to articulate exactly was on her mind. ‘Do you have any idea how cruel you were back then? Any. Fucking. Idea?’ She punctuated each of her last words with a sharp poke of her finger to his chest and he was forced to walk backwards into the room, her following him inside and the door shutting behind them.

‘Honestly I can’t remember. I just remember feeling so angry and I know I said things I shouldn’t have done…’

She shoved him hard this time and he fell backwards, the back of his legs colliding with the sofa. She was pacing in front of the coffee table and he was grateful that the furniture was separating them.

‘You can’t remember,’ she wandered off towards the window, spying his glass of scotch on the table. ‘You’ve been drinking is that why?’

‘So have you.’

‘Yes. Yes I have, though I don’t see what the fuck it’s got to do with you. You know I don’t like to drink David but under the circumstances I felt I had to.’

He watched her across the other side of the room wondering if her finger was as sore as his chest felt. She threw her bag and shoes onto the bed and folded her arms across her chest, hoping she appeared as closed off to him as she felt. She sighed. ‘Shall I tell you what you said?’

He closed his eyes and his chin dropped forward to his chest, nodding silently. ‘Look I know it wasn’t nice and I know inside I feel really bad about it so it couldn’t have been pretty… But Gillian I’m…’

‘Nice David? What you said wasn’t nice or pretty? No it wasn’t nice it was positively vile. I have never, ever been spoken to that before by anyone. You said I didn’t give a shit. You called me ditsy and you made me feel like you’re whore on the beach wearing a bikini. You couldn’t wait to cover me up and get me out of the way.’

‘I’m sorry baby I don’t know what else to say,’ he got up off the sofa and tried to get closer to her but she stepped back away from him towards the balcony shaking her head and holding out her hand to warn him not to come any closer.

‘You know I cancelled plans to be here with you, so we could have some time together and because I needed to see you. I wanted to see you.’

‘I needed to see you too, even though it had only been a few days Gillian. I hate that you act like you’re the only one who needs this.’

‘Well I am aren’t I? I don’t see you needing me for anything other than a quick fuck when we’re on the same continent. I hate that I need you the way that I do, I fucking hate it David. It’s pathetic. I feel pathetic but I can’t stop,’ she turned to face away from him and fanned herself with her hand to stop the tears from falling. She was angry and upset and she hated that tears always came when she was feeling mad.

‘You know that’s not true. That’s not true at all Gillian and you know it,’

She took a deep breath and turned back to face him. ‘Do I? Do I really? You make me feel like nothing more than a whore David. We see each other at hotels, we fuck and then we each go our separate ways for another few weeks, months.’

‘You can’t say that, I won’t fucking have you say that to me!’

‘I’m fucking saying that because that’s how it feels to me! We are never seen together David we are always so careful and it makes me feel cheap. And every time I try to tell myself that you wouldn’t do that and then today happens and you make me feel like a fool because you can’t get rid of me fast enough.’

‘I was angry they took pictures of us. What was happening between us was intimate, it was private. It wasn’t for the eyes of some tabloid newspaper that was you and me. Of course I’m fucking angry about it, you’re my…’

‘I’m your what.’

His silence fell over the room and he saw her chest rising and falling, heard her breathing more deeply. Her anger was palpable and he watched as she picked up his whisky glass, sensing she was about to hurl it across the room. He quickly closed the distance between them and grabbed her wrist, twisting it violently so the glass dropped out of her hand and smashed on the floor, pieces skittering everywhere. He whirled her around and pinned her against the wall holding her wrist above her head, his legs straddled either side of hers holding her there, leaving her nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. He hunched over and dropped his head to her ear, his breath was hot and wet as he stood there catching his breath and she hated that she could feel the dampness between her legs and her nipples hardening. He had her left hand in a tight lock and it throbbed and she drew back her right slapping him hard across the cheek leaving him stunned as the sound echoed around the room.

His cock was hard against her folds and he thrust against her, grabbing her right hand and pinning both of her hands with his larger one above her head. He knew he wasn’t doing anything she didn’t want him to do and she cried out. He had her, she was as turned on as he was and he could see in her eyes she was angry with herself for it. He flicked his tongue out and bit down gently on her neck, trailing kisses down to her collar bone and nipping her with his teeth.

‘Girlfriend,’ he whispered. ‘You. Are my girlfriend. That’s what you are. Strangers don’t look at my girlfriend.’ His free hand massaged her breast and he pinched her nipple hard between his fingers eliciting another breathy noise from her throat. ‘I won’t hear you say that I think you’re a whore,’ he continued as he ran opened mouth kisses over her sundress towards the valley between her breasts, his hand snaking downwards between their bodies to let his fingers push down on her clit. She gasped, her mouth forming a circle and her eyes fluttering shut. ‘You are beautiful. You deserve better than me. But you can’t leave me just like I can’t leave you. I need you. I want you to be mine.’

His fingers rubbed her clit through her thin layers of clothing and she relaxed against his touch, her wrists going limp against his hold and she was powerless to stop herself bucking towards his hand. God she needed this, she needed him inside her and knew that at least some of her anger was at being left by him in such an aroused state earlier on today. She felt pathetic that they both had to get sex out of their system before they could talk reasonably but this was them. Unconventional by default and there was that damn chemistry between them that continued to get the better of both of them. The fucking and the talking went one before the other.

His hand was undoing the drawstring of his pants and his cock sprang free, hot and hard against her folds. He pulled her forward so he could unzip her dress, letting it fall to the floor and he hooked it away with his foot. The wall shook as he pushed her back up against it, a picture rattling in its frame as his cock parted her labia and rubbed up and down against her wetness. He let her wrists down from above her head and she tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling at clumps of it and forcing his mouth down towards hers. She bit his lip as she kissed him, tasting the blood that she’d drawn but still wanting to hurt him. His tongue thrust into her mouth, his teeth banging with hers and their kisses were desperate and frenzied. They broke apart and she untied the strings of her bikini pants, her eyes not leaving his face as the sodden material fell to the floor between them. His cock probed at her entrance, and his mouth found hers again, hearing her whimper against his lips into their kiss. He lifted her legs up around his waist and her heels dug into his ass, pushing his cock all the way into her, taking him by surprise. He positioned one arm to hold her around both shoulders and his free hand pinched tightly on her nipple, making her groan again. He pulled almost all the way out of her and thrust in again, agonisingly slowly and she bit down on his shoulder leaving a mark, hoping he understood her urges for him to speed up. He thrust again and pinched harder and she sucked at the skin at the base of his neck, muffling her cries into him and pulling him closer to her with her heels. She knew he didn’t have much control in this position and she knew she was close if he’d just speed up but she was sure he was doing this deliberately.

Another thrust and another hard pinch of her nipple, nails grazing hard over her breast and finally he sped up, full and hard inside her as his fingers flicked against her clit urging her on towards her climax. He was really driving into her hard and two fingers and one hard push against her clit caused her to scream and bite him on the shoulder. His thrusts were erratic and he used both arms to pin her to the wall, pounding into her and finding his release.

They were sweaty, bruised, hot and both trembled from their anger and the aftershocks of orgasm. He gently lifted her down from the wall and placed her standing on the floor carefully, minding in case there was glass around. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and held her against him, waiting until he felt her wrap her arms around him reluctantly before tucking her head under his chin and rubbing circles along her lower back.

‘I’m sorry baby, I’m really sorry.’

She tightened her hold against him and let him rock her gently, unable to say anything to him quite yet. He closed his eyes and hoped that she’d let him prove he was worthy of forgiveness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not for the faint hearted.

She’d left his room without saying much. She had still looked upset as well as tired and he sensed she needed some time to herself so left her to it. She had mumbled something about having a bath and a nap and he’d walked her to the door, holding her hand and helping avoid the glass on the floor. She’d let him gently kiss her goodbye and he felt a small glimmer of hope that he might have done enough to salvage things, but sensed he had a long way to go. He then had the delightful task of trying to explain why there was smashed glass all over his hotel room floor. Luckily the staff hadn’t asked any questions and he was left feeling like he’d spent all day apologising and giving insanely large tips, which was as much as he deserved.

He’d channel surfed, pretended to read on the balcony, showered and changed into a suit. He’d wasted a couple of hours and still hadn’t heard from her and decided he’d risk seeing if she fancied some company.

She knew he was at the door because she’d heard his shut. Hotels never were particularly sound proof despite their claims and she opened the door to him to save him knocking.

‘Hey,’ he offered her a small smile.

She returned his smile though it didn’t quite reach her eyes and stepped aside to let him past. She was wearing the hotel robe and had her hair piled underneath a towel on top of her head, the beginnings of make-up decorating her face. She sat herself down at the dressing table, looking at his reflection in the mirror sitting behind her on the bed. He looked good in a white dress shirt and navy blue dress pants with fine pin stripes. She realised he was clearly ready to go somewhere for the evening as she applied another coat of mascara and spied he was wearing cuff links.

He looked up at the ceiling and surveyed her room, noticing her sapphire coloured knee length gown hanging in a plastic cover on the curtain rail. ‘Nice dress.’

She turned away from him to look at it, somewhat in her own world. ‘Thanks. I didn’t know what clothes to bring with me so…’

‘Come to dinner with me?’

She twisted back around to face him, caught off-guard by his question. ‘What?’

‘I’m asking if you’ll come to dinner with me.’

‘Don’t you have a network thing tonight?’

He stood up and walked to stand behind her, watching her reaction in the mirror as he came closer towards her. She screwed the top back on her mascara and watched his reflection, his hand rubbing circles between her shoulder blades. He felt her lean into his touch ever so slightly and her eyes drifted shut. He untwisted the towel on top of her head gently and let her hair fall in soft, damp curls around her face, placing a kiss on top of her head.

‘I do but I want you to come with me. It’s just drinks and…’ he drifted off into a soft chuckle.

‘What?’

‘Some press shots.’

She couldn’t help but laugh at the bitter irony of it and reached up to her shoulder to twine her fingers with his, acknowledging that he at least seemed to be making some effort. ‘Sure.’

He continued pressing kisses on top of her head as his hands slipped under the towelling robe to massage her shoulders. Her skin was warm and soft and she smelt delicious. It wasn’t his intention to weaken her resolve but he just couldn’t keep his hands off her when she was in such close proximity.

‘Daviiiiid,’ she warned, though more with her voice than her actions as her body continued to relax into his hands.

‘I’m sorry. I should stop… I’m sorry.’

He held up both of his hands and walked backwards away from her to sit back on the bed. She sighed, her head tipping forward and her hair hiding her face from him, even in the mirror. She shuffled round on her chair to face him and his eyes were drawn to where the sash hadn’t been tied particularly well around her breasts. He couldn’t help but stare and she bit her lip and laughed at him as she realised, pulling the gown more tightly around herself. He closed his eyes and   
shook his head.

‘You want me to go and let you finish getting ready?’

‘No, you can stay. I’m almost done, but I’ll need some help with the dress.’

He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, gripping the bed sheets with his fists, something she didn’t miss. He was going to have to leave and come back in when all he had to do was fasten a zipper. Right now all he could think about was his face between her legs trying to do some making up to her and he didn’t trust himself one bit to not touch her. If she wanted him to keep his hands to himself he'd have no choice but to leave.

He walked over to her, waiting for her to tell him to wait in the bathroom but she didn’t. Her eyes were on his as he knelt down, slipping a finger under the knot in her robe. Her chest was rising and falling and her breathing was heavier. He could see her breasts bobbing up and down as his fingers teased out the knot allowing the robe to fall open. He knew she’d be naked underneath but as always he was never prepared for how beautiful she looked and tonight she was breathtaking.

‘Please let me show you.’

She nodded, understanding what he meant. Let me show you what you mean to me, what you are to me, how much I need and want you. Despite his knowledge of the English language words seemed to fail him continually where she was concerned and he was much better with actions. He brushed the robe off both of her shoulders and reached behind her to pull her ass towards the edge of the seat. She spread her legs in anticipation and he lifted both over his shoulders, his eyes not leaving hers. She bit her lip and ran her hands over her breasts, massaging with her palm and teasing her nipples between her thumb and forefinger. This was meant to be for her but seeing her like this and touching herself was making him painfully hard and he found it very difficult to concentrate. 

He ran open mouthed wet kisses along her inner thigh from her knee to the juncture with her curls and she moaned, tangling one hand in his hair whilst the other fingers grazed over her nipples, making circles around her areola.  
He inhaled and she squirmed to arch closer towards his mouth, desperately wanting him to reach his destination. One hand squeezed her ass and pulled her centre closer to his face and the other drifted up over her navel, finding her hand and sneaking underneath it. Her hand guided his over her nipples and he pinched her as the tip of his tongue flicked over her clit. She let out a strangled cry and thrust her pelvis against him as he sucked her and lapped his tongue around in lazy circles. He stroked his thumb upwards against her nipple as he stiffened his tongue and it probed at her entrance, tasting her and using her juices to swirl around her already swollen clit. He repeated his strokes, reaching her clit with his tongue at the hardest part of his pinch. He was urged on by her moaning and writhing underneath him, knowing he was doing something right. 

She was panting and her nails were leaving indents on his knuckles as she held his hand against his breast, the rhythm of his thumb over her nipple copying the rhythm of his tongue over her folds. He pulled her down in the chair so she was on a slope and her ass was closer to him and she inhaled deeply as she realised what he was about to do. His tongue snaked around her anus as his thumb squeezed down on her nipple and she shuddered, feeling him smile against her. He knew what she liked and she loved that he knew her so well.

His hand massaged her ass cheek and his fingers crept closer, his thumb putting pressure on her perineum and teasing the entrance of her ass. His tongue plunged into her vagina as he pushed his thumb inside making her release a guttural low moan from her throat. He flicked his tongue over her clit a couple of times and could taste and smell how ready she was. Her noises were getting louder, her breathing heavier he could barely hold her still she was so close. She was murmuring his name over and over and his cock twitched in anticipation but remembered this was for her, all for her. His tongue went deeper inside her this time and darted inside her as his thumb pressed on her perineum and the edge of her anus. She managed to whisper out a yes as she threw her head back on the chair and he pushed his thumb and his tongue all the way in simultaneously, sending her over the edge and managing to make her scream. 

Her orgasm shocked her, the waves of contraction lasting longer in their intensity and she breathed long and hard to calm down. Her hair was damp against her forehead and the insides of her thighs were hot and sticky. She didn’t think she’d ever had an experience quite so intimate or quite like that before. If this was what being his girlfriend meant then she was sticking around for the long haul.

He pulled away from her and helped her sit up, placing a kiss on her forehead before heading to wash his hands and clean up.

She caught his hand as he moved to walk away. ‘David?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Just… Wow. Thank you.’

He laughed. ‘You’re welcome baby.’

++++

After another quick shower to clean up and reapplication of her make-up she found him lying back on the bed, eyes closed, with his hands behind the back of his head relaxing.

She placed a gentle kiss on his lips and he smiled and pulled her closer to him, tugging on her hands to get her to lie down next to him. She perched on the edge of the bed and ran her hands over his dress shirt, nibbling on his lower lip and his tongue gently explored her mouth, tasting of mint and a faint hint of cigarettes. He hated that he’d driven her to nicotine and alcohol all in one afternoon.

She pulled away from him and he sat up, taking in the sight of her in black lace pants and a strapless bra. ‘You did say you’d help me with my dress if you remember?’

She smiled remembering what had distracted him and removed the dress from the cover and hanger and unzipped it, stepping into it and doing up the zip as best she could. The blue of the dress matched her eyes and it was similar to the longer version of the gown she’d worn back in February, but without the bow. The sweetheart neckline showed off her clavicles beautifully and the dress accentuated her small waist, the skirt flaring out slightly down to her shapely calves. She felt two large hands hold her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing gently as he finished the job and placed a kiss on the back of her neck.

‘You look beautiful. I wish I had something to give you.’

‘What do you mean?’

He reached behind his neck and undid the silver circular medallion he’d been wearing on and off for the last few years, holding it with one hand so it dangled in front of her as he gestured for her to turn around with the other.

She felt the cool metal land on her chest and crouched down to see what he’d put on her in the mirror. She recognised it and had seen him wearing it in pictures, along with someone else she didn't want to think about. 

‘David… Who gave you this?’

‘Mom did. It was Dad’s St Christopher and he wanted me to have it after he died. You can just… Look after it for me.'

‘I thought it was from…’

‘I know you did. So do a lot of people. She got one similar because she liked mine so much, it’s as simple as that.’

‘David I can’t…’

‘Look I have said and behaved unforgivably today. I know you haven’t forgiven me and I know I can’t apologise enough. Come out with me tonight, stand by my side and wear my necklace. Stop feeling like I want to hide you away because I don’t and I never have.’

She inhaled deeply and rolled her eyes towards the ceiling to stop her make-up from running down her face. The silver colour matched her shoes and the circular earrings she wore and finished off her outfit beautifully. She wasn’t sure she could articulate how she was feeling at the moment and she wondered if this man would ever stop surprising her.

‘Guess this makes it official,’ she croaked out as she wrapped her arms around his waist, drawing him close to her.

‘Makes what official?’

‘David it’s like you’ve pinned me or something.’

He laughed properly, for the first time all day. ‘What are we, in high school in the fifties?’

‘Sometimes I do wonder…’

She took his arm and picked up her purse and they headed downstairs to face the press, this time with their permission. She tried to ignore the knot in her stomach at the questions that would be shouted at them, and hoped he was ready for what they were about to face together.


	4. Chapter 4

He held her hand in his as they made their way to take the stairs down to the bar rather than the elevator. Neither of them were particularly good at keeping their hands to themselves in confined spaces and she didn’t want to risk having to re-apply her make-up for a third time that evening.

‘Thank you,’ she’d murmured as they reached the top of the stairwell.

His fingers gave hers a squeeze. ‘For what?’

‘I know you’re doing this for me…’

He slowed their pace down as they rounded the corner of the wide elegant staircase, mahogany banisters contrasting with the gold chandeliers above them. She noticed a few people had stopped to look up at them and she looked at her shoes to pretend to prying eyes they were the reason she was climbing down the stairs so slowly.

He lowered his voice to a whisper as an elderly Frenchman passed them and smiled. ‘Listen I’m not doing this to prove a point to anyone apart from you. I want this, I really do, and I know I’ve got to show you that. I know it’s going to take time for you to trust me not to fuck it up. Just… Don’t go. Don’t leave while I find my feet with all this.’

She knew they had to go to this event but she wanted nothing more in that moment than to hold him, feel his arms around her and reassure him that she was going nowhere. The sincerity behind his words made the ground feel wobbly beneath her. They reached the bottom step and she held his gaze, tilting her head up towards him and picking an imaginary thread off his suit jacket, seeing him smile at a habit she hadn’t been able to break for years.

Their moment was interrupted and she never got to tell him what she wanted to say. Directors, producers, cast and crew from his show came to greet him, shaking hands with him and kissing her on the cheeks and smiling. The feigned interest and small talk represented everything they both hated about these kind of events but it mildly amused her to see several sets of eyebrows shoot up on several foreheads as he introduced her to people. He introduced her just as Gillian but never once let go of her hand and stood slightly behind her, invading her space and implying everything he needed to with his body language rather than his words.

Nancy Collini’s face was far more notable for its surprise than anyone else’s as she hugged both her and David, shook her head and mumbled something about Rob Bowman owing her a hundred dollars as she mingled with the crowd. The bar was arranged with a long table of drinks on one side and served champagne and only champagne by the looks of things. He looked over at her as he collected her a glass and she shrugged her shoulders. They were in France after all, and after drinking this afternoon what harm could another do.

Photographers were dotted around the bar taking action shots rather than posed photographs and although they weren’t intruding the feeling of being watched by them left her uncomfortable. It was true what people said about feeling like you were in a goldfish bowl, there really was nowhere to hide.

David was just finishing his second glass of champagne and he’d stopped holding her hand but his long arm was draped around her waist, his fingers splayed on her hip and holding her to him. Every now and then when he thought no one was watching his fingers drifted downwards and he drew small, slow circles on her hip, driving her slightly mad inside the confines of her dress. He spoke quietly to her, bending low to her ear and whispering excited little details about his show, the set and locations they’d used. She’d noticed several people make their excuses and walk away from them as they carried on their own conversation, forgetting where they were. She was fascinated by him, the sparkle in his eyes, his facial expressions and how animated he had become. She was finding it hard to keep focus on his eyes as hers kept drifting down to his lips and mouth and back up again and she knew he’d caught her doing it. He didn’t mind one bit, he just loved that he got to see her smile and hear her laugh and know that he was the reason for it.

He introduced her to the show’s creator and picked up a third glass of champagne as she finished her first. The alcohol had clearly loosened his inhibitions as his hand drifted lower and circles he was drawing were firmer and more purposeful. He was deep into conversation about directing and although she was interested and enjoying it she felt he’d be best left to his own devices for a little while. She had her revenge on him for touching her, letting her lips brush his cheek gently before quirking an eyebrow and whispering in his ear that she was going to the bathroom. She hadn’t missed his shiver and he hadn’t missed the challenge in her voice or her eyes and watched as she made a slow deliberate walk away from him.

She had prepared for what she was sure was inevitable behind the closed door, feeling no shame as she hid her pants inside her purse. She knew she couldn’t wait for him just as he couldn’t wait to have her. As she stood in the handicapped bathroom she was reminded of a time six years ago when she was heavily pregnant and he was a mess. He really should have been in rehab already rather than struggling through the premier of a mediocre movie. They’d had a heart to heart, not by most people’s standards but by their own and she’d held him as the tears flowed freely from his eyes. But that was a lifetime ago, and she watched the door in the mirror, knowing he would be on the other side of it before she heard the door handle turn. He locked the door behind her and found her eyes in the mirror as he walked towards her, hands placed either side of her on the granite surface, pinning her to her spot. She felt his cock hard against her ass and her mouth formed a wicked smile.

‘See what you’ve done? How am I meant to talk seriously to people when it looks like my dick’s set up camp and pitched a tent in my pants.’

She giggled and he smiled as the beautiful sound echoed off the marble walls of the bathroom. He placed kisses along her jawline and down her neck and watched as she moved her head to allow him more access to her sun-drenched skin.

‘You are a wicked woman Gillian Anderson. And you smell divine.’ 

He was everywhere around her, hands on her ass, chest moulded to her back and mouth trailing open mouthed kisses along her collarbone. His cock pressed into her insistently and she was surprised he couldn’t feel her wetness through her dress. Her thighs felt like they were dripping and her clit was swollen, catching against the rough lining of her dress and sending waves of pleasure coursing through her. 

‘David we don’t have much time…’ she urged.

‘Baby on the contrary we’ve got plenty of time. You just can’t wait for me to fuck you.’

She loved this game they played. She didn’t care that he knew how desperate she was she knew he was just the same, he just talked the talk a lot better than she did.

'No... I can't.' she whispered, wanting to slap herself for how needy she sounded.

His eyes held hers in the mirror and he turned her sideways, walking her forwards so she could brace herself on a nearby chair. His hands were busy lifting the layers of her skirt as he bent her over she heard him unzip his pants, freeing his cock. He held the layers around her waist, positioning them under his arm and she heard his sharp intake of breath at what he had discovered. 

‘Jesus. Fuck Gillian.’

She couldn’t suppress a smile and feel like the victor in this game they were playing but the feeling was taken over by the overwhelming need for him to be inside of her. He was so right she couldn’t wait for him to fuck her.

He positioned his cock at her entrance feeling her wetness against his tip and he knew no other foreplay was needed. They knew this wouldn’t take long for either of them and she pressed her hands into the seat of the chair, concentrating on muffling her cries. He entered her in a single thrust, his arm holding her to him and his fingers finding her clit as her hips pushed back against him. She urged him on as he pushed in and pulled out of her, each thrust accompanied by his thumb flicking over her engorged clit. It was fast and hard and she felt his cock hit against her cervix. She knew he was fucking her like he wanted to, her shamelessly bent over a chair in a bathroom like a ragdoll, at the mercy of his cock and his left hand. She loved every second of it and he felt so good.

She could feel she was close but her orgasm took her by surprise as he ground his hand down on her roughly and she let out a strangled cry. She held still on wobbly legs as he erratically pumped into her letting out a low growl as his orgasm took over.

They both stood for a second, regaining their composure before he let her go gently to quickly clean up before she ruined her dress. He waited outside the locked closet door before swapping places with her.

‘Better?’ she ventured and he laughed, shaking his head. She waited as he cracked open the door of the bathroom, signalling to her that the coast was clear. They each walked in different directions, him towards the champagne table and her outside for some air. He’d find her soon enough and get her out of here for dinner, or maybe, he wondered, dessert.


	5. Chapter 5

She walked back into the bar with her head held high and a spring in her step. David was talking to a tall man in a tan jacket and she tried to catch his eye and flash him her smile, which was permanently etched on her face. She placed a gentle hand on his arm and felt him stiffen momentarily then relax as he recognised her touch, her hand in his as she stood by his side.

 

David’s expression was hard to read and she had reached their conversation at a pause, watching as the photographer pulled out his iPad from his shoulder bag and started silently scrolling through photos. She gasped as she realised what was about to happen and felt David’s grip tighten on hers as he realised too, watching his jaw set and his nostrils flare. The photographer flicked through the pictures with ease and she couldn’t help but feel the dampness start between her legs as she looked at frame after frame of David’s mouth on her breasts, and his fingers venturing down her body to touch her intimately.

 

‘What… Just exactly what do you plan to do with these?’

 

David pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefingers and he stepped just slightly in front of her. She was sure trying to protect her but also blocking her view of the iPad. His voice was quiet but she could hear his anger brewing beneath the low volume.

 

‘People, US Magazine… TMZ online, I mean I could go on. These pictures will get a lot of interest as the two of you will appreciate.’

 

Gillian tugged on his hand to try to get his attention and get him to move away with her. The damage had been done, the pictures would be published and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it. He tugged the other way away from her, reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and picked out a card, handing it to the photographer.

 

‘That’s my publicist. There are some of those pictures I don’t want in the public domain. We both have children and they don’t need to see these. You can name your price for the more explicit pictures to be removed.’

 

The photographer nodded, before making a move to go away, shoving his iPad back in his bag. ‘Any comments?’ he asked, looking across at both of them.

 

Gillian made a move forward to speak but was silenced by the look on David’s face as he once again stepped slightly in front of her, holding her hand behind his back. He had something to say and he was determined to say it. He was doing incredibly well at holding himself together and the photographer was lucky to be able to walk away with his face intact.

 

‘Gillian and I are…’

 

David waited whilst the photographer delved into his bag for his notebook and pen and began scribbling furiously. He had to think very carefully about what to say next and was on thin ice. He could easily offend several people if he wasn’t careful and the champagne he’d had earlier certainly wasn’t helping him to collect his thoughts particularly well.

 

‘We are currently in the early stages of a relationship. We don’t see each other often, so we really appreciate our privacy when we do so we can spend as much time together as possible.’

 

David gave a curt nod and the photographer knew it was his queue to leave, but he wasn’t prepared for her hand to be wrenched out of his and for her to walk away. He sighed, counted to ten in his head and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, grabbing another champagne glass. There would be a day when he understood women, but today was not that day.

 

++++

 

He found her looking out to the sea at the far edge of the balcony, cigarette in one hand and the other on her hip. He stood behind her and she didn’t need to turn around to know he was there.

 

‘I tried to say what I thought you wanted me to say. Did I say the wrong thing? Again?’

 

She turned to face him, holding her cigarette away from him but he surprised her when he reached for her hand, stepped forward and put her cigarette to his lips to take a drag.

 

‘David you spoke for me and completely ignored me. It’s not what you said, what you said was… Beautiful. But don’t speak on my behalf like that. And dont stand in front of me when we're both being spoken to.’

 

She took her cigarette back, inhaling slowly and flicking ash towards the ground. She was aware of more pairs of eyes on them so edged closer to him, placing her hand around his on the stem of the champagne glass and tipping the glass to her lips for a sip. She held his gaze and felt the tension crackle between them. She had to be honest with how she felt from the beginning, this was too important to hide how she really felt. If it was going to start at all it had to start right.

 

‘So let me get this straight you want me to admit publically that I’m with you and I just tell that fucking journalist that we’re in an actual relationship and that’s still not good enough for you?’

 

‘We are in this relationship David. Both of us. I don’t need another relationship where I’m talked over, spoken for and ignored when it’s convenient.’

 

‘Oh spare me the feminist bullshit Gillian about men ignoring women because that’s not what I was trying to do.’

 

She looked at him incredulously, her hands beginning to tremble with frustration, anger, lust and sheer disbelief at the man who stood opposite her. ‘Feminist bullshit? Did you actually just fucking say that David?’

 

‘Gillian I don’t know how I got this so wrong. I’m sorry. Again. For fucking up everything that’s coming out of my mouth today, tonight and inevitably in the future. If you must know I was trying to be a gentleman.’

 

Her eyebrows almost shot off her forehead and she laughed as she exhaled smoke to the dark black sky above them.

 

‘Oh please feel free to explain this one David.’

 

He was a little wobbly on his feet and the champagne had clearly gone to his head on the back of four whiskies and an empty stomach. ‘I was trying to do that thing, the thing like in a restaurant where a man orders food for a lady, he speaks for her because he thinks they have a shared view on things. Obviously I have got this very wrong and that’s why you’re staring at me like that. I was just trying to take charge, show that I wasn’t afraid of this and I’m sorry this has backfired on me big time.’

 

She shook her head at him, lighting another cigarette and passing one to him. In some ways she could see his point and see how the manly thing to do would be for him to make a statement about the both of them. But she didn’t need him to speak for her any more than she needed him to open a door for her or carry her bags for her. She knew he was old fashioned and she was trying not to be angry with him, but sometimes he really did say the most ridiculous of things.

 

‘This is me trying to be honest with you. That’s all. My opinions count for just as much as yours. We’re equals in this David and it has to start as it means to go on.’

 

He put his empty glass down on the window sill and put an arm around her waist, hand straying down to cup her ass and pulling her pelvis close to his. He smelt of champagne and cigarettes and was swaying her gently under the moonlight, making it very difficult for her to stay angry with him.

 

‘Can I ask you to come to dinner with me or do you have to do the asking?’ he whispered in her ear, nose nuzzling her hair and placing a soft kiss just below the angle of her jaw. She rested her head on his chest and took a final drag on her cigarette.

 

‘You can ask and I might even say yes,’ she said, smiling up at him.

 

‘Looks like this is gonna take a bit of getting used to for both of us?’

 

She nodded and held him close, her fingers resting in the belt loops on his pants. His hands rubbed gently up and down her back, sending literal shivers down her spine. She wondered if this would be too much getting used to for him, or even both of them.


	6. Chapter 6

They managed to escape the party and headed out the back of the hotel to a quaint little seafood restaurant. The building was old and crooked with enormous stone pillars inside and whitewashed walls. David had to duck his head to walk to the back of the restaurant where he’d managed to secure a reservation for them and held her chair out for her. Their knees touched underneath the small table and she slipped a foot out of her shoe to gently draw small circles over his ankle with her toe. He trapped her foot between his legs, halting her movements but let her foot rest on the inside of the leg of his pants. She continued to make small movements along the back of his calf, feeling him tense underneath her as her toes travelled the outline of his muscles.

He put his menu up to cover his face and murmured slowly from behind it. ‘I thought you said you were hungry.’

‘I am…’

‘For food?’

She laughed and pulled on his sleeve. He put the paper down and met her gaze, watching as the color spread over her cheeks. Her fingers delicately traced the outline of his, her light touch giving him goose bumps as she moved to trace patterns over his knuckles.

‘You like oysters?’

‘Not really. Scallops yes, but oysters I’ve never been much of a fan. Are you thinking we need some kind of aphrodisiac?’ 

She shook her head and her tongue escaped to slowly lick her lips, pulling her bottom lip inside her mouth and allowing her teeth to run over it.

‘You drive me crazy when you do that.’

She smiled and turned his hand over so their fingers were on each other’s palms. She loved having her hands played with and his finger traced her lifeline as hers lingered over his wedding ring finger and the tattoo there.

‘You can ask you know.’

‘It’s faded. You’re getting it removed?’

He nodded and she could feel him drawing the outline of the infinity symbol over her palm. ‘It’s gonna take a while to go completely. I started having the laser in June. They think a few months, maybe a year.’

She acknowledged what he was saying, realizing that the filing for divorce and removing the tattoo had started at the same time. She felt like his marriage was really over for him, like he was starting a new chapter and trying to make that new chapter with her. He had never been one to let go of the past particularly easily, especially when he felt duty bound and she knew his kids had made him feel that way. It was hard to get divorced when you’d grown up watching your parents do the exact same thing to you and almost the same age.

‘What’s it mean?’

She pushed her palm up against his and twined their fingers together on the table. His thumb continued to caress her hand as her toes wiggled against his calf. 

‘Always by your side forever, but adding the ‘B’ was too many letters and didn’t quite have the same ring to it.’

‘And why now, why get rid of it now I mean.’

‘It just felt like time to draw a line under it. I’ve moved on, she’s… Well she doesn’t really say much but I get the feeling she’ll tell me when she’s ready.’

‘You’ve moved on?’

She felt a blush spread across her cheeks as she asked him the question, knowing what his answer would be and knowing that she was part of the reason he had finally been able to move forward. She knew she was not responsible for the ending of his marriage, that had happened of its own accord several years before but it had taken him longer than she had liked for him to realize that. He was different to her in that respect, with her relationships she knew they were over and she knew she had to get out before they became toxic to her and those around her.

‘You know I have. Does that scare you?’

‘I’d be lying if I said no. I see it as a good thing though.’

‘What, being scared?’

‘If I didn’t care how this went it wouldn’t scare me.’

He gave her knuckles a squeeze as the waiter arrived and he watched as she ordered white wine, scallops for them both to share followed by prawn linguine for her and squid ink risotto for him. He was in awe of the fact he’d never told her what he actually wanted to eat yet she knew him that well to know. She offered him a wink from the other side of the table as she watched his jaw drop open slightly. She was as sexy as hell when she took charge and she clearly felt sexy doing it.

‘You’re beautiful.’

She laughed that deep throaty laugh of hers and threw her head back before leaning across the table towards him. He watched as her eyes sparkled and she dodged her head around the candlestick and flower arrangement and he met her lips with his, giving her a brief kiss on the lips and resting his forehead against hers.

‘That word does not do you justice,’ he whispered to her, kissing her again before placing his thumb on her lip leaning back in his chair.

She kissed his thumb and shifted back to her side of the table and rubbed her fingers over his wrist, feeling his pulse increase as she did. ‘You can show me later,’ she breathed.

The waiter arrived and poured their wine as quickly as possible, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and looking visibly relieved when neither of them were bothered about tasting it first. He was anxious to leave this new couple alone, thinking they must be on their honeymoon and they clearly didn't need a third wheel interrupting. The grip of her foot tightened on the back of his calf as they were asked if they wanted ice water, and he didn't miss the flush that spread across her face.

'So, champagne... Wine and... You were drinking earlier too? I feel like I've driven you to it.'

'Cocktails. Very nice ones actually. It's been one hell of a day though don’t you think?'

He nodded and continued stroking her hand. 'I really am sorry about earlier, I was just so angry I didn't realize what I was saying. I'm sorry I flew off the handle like that.'

She could tell he really was sorry from the tone and pitch of his voice and they had both suffered enough today with paparazzi and photographers, not to mention having to plaster fake smiles across their faces and make small talk with people they didn't necessarily like or respect.

'You're on your way to being forgiven...'

'On my way? What's a guy have to do these days?'

She raised her eyebrows and licked her lips again, pulling her bottom lip against her teeth in the way that she knew he liked. She shifted her foot against his calf, trailing her fingers up and down his forearm and watching as the hairs stood on end. She lowered her voice and leaned further towards him. 'Why dont you tell me what you'd like to do, and I'll see if I feel it... Gets you further along your way to forgiveness.'

'Here?'

'I want you to tell me right here and now David.'

He inhaled sharply at the sound of her saying his name; he just loved that authoritative tone she used when she wanted something. It reminded him of how much she'd grown into herself in the last few years and how she was feeling as self-confident as she ought to. He knew he was one hell of a lucky man that she was even in the same room as him after the way he'd behaved today let alone joining him for dinner. He plucked an ice cube out of the jug of water and let it melt slightly, letting the droplets run down his fingers. She watched him as the water fell in neat circles on the table cloth.

'I was interrupted on the beach,' he whispered in a low growl.

She arched one eyebrow quizzically before watching as he let the ice drop into his glass of water and licked each of his fingers in turn, rolling his fingers over his bottom lip deliberately slowly.

'I wanted to take one ice cube, trail it down your body with one hand and kiss you along the path that it left... I was going to rub it against your folds... Then kneel down in the sand and suck your clit through those tiny bikini pants you were wearing. I wasn't going to take them off.'

She groaned and disguised it with clearing her throat, one hand placed at the base of her neck and the other tightening its grip on his fingers. 'Then,' she gasped.

'You were so hot and so wet I know that the ice would have melted, so I would have gotten a second ice cube... Traced a circle around your nipple with it, then let it take the same journey down your body. You've got a beautiful body by the way. I just...' he shook his head and closed his eyes as he trailed off. 'You captivate me Gillian you really do.'

She cast her eyes down towards the table, eyelashes hiding her eyes. She was not used to hearing compliments from him so often. She felt the tips of her fingers getting hot and sweaty and was feeling rather warm from the combination of his words and the thoughts they conjured up and the wine. 'Carry on,' she murmured. She fiddled with the cool metal of his necklace around her neck and felt a fluttery feeling pass across her chest as she considered the meaning behind his gesture. He'd marked her as his and she'd worn his necklace to prove it. She had no doubt the pictures of her wearing it had already been released to the rest   
of the world.

'I'd trace the ice cube over your navel and let my tongue taste in the dip there. I'd pull your bikini pants to the side...'

He watched as she let her eyes flutter shut and felt her grip his hand, her knuckles turning white as she squeezed his fingers. 'Please,' she whispered. 'Please David don’t stop.'

He'd never made a woman orgasm before with just words but the expression and the arousal on her face made him want to skip dinner and take her back to the hotel, if he could survive for that long. If not he wondered if there was a secluded alley wall behind the restaurant. 'I'd tease your breast with one hand, circling around your nipple with my finger, then pinching it in that way you like with my thumb. Then I'd taste you with my tongue, dipping it between your folds and sucking your clit. God you taste so good Gillian you have no idea.'

Her cheeks were crimson and her breathing was becoming ragged. She squeezed her thighs together feeling her wet folds rub against each other underneath her dress. She shifted her chair and leant backwards barely stifling a gasp as she felt her own arousal again and felt more moisture pool at the friction she created between her legs. Luckily the tablecloth was floor length and covered a multitude of sins as she removed her foot from the inside of his pants and slid it up his leg, stopping as her toes curled around his hard cock. His cutlery fell off the table and he closed his eyes tilting his head backwards. Her toe found the tip of his cock through the thin material of his pants and slipped across it. He gripped her hand tightly and exhaled deeply, wondering about taking her into the bathroom of the restaurant when he heard the waiter next to him replacing his cutlery and serving their food.

‘How am I supposed to eat when your foot is doing that to me?’

She pierced a scallop with a fork, deliberately rounding her lips over the food and pulling her teeth across her lower lips as she chewed slowly.

‘May I speak plainly?’

He laughed as the words from streetcar were not lost on him. ‘Please, do go on.’

‘The quicker we eat… The quicker you can fuck me David.’

He squeezed her hand, picked up his new cutlery and tried very hard to concentrate on his food.


End file.
